Bulls must make no small plans for next season

Aside from Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, everything on table to lure top talents such as Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love

April 30, 2014|David Haugh | In the Wake of the News

On the long walk down the hallway late Tuesday night after his final postgame news conference of the season, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau stopped outside the Wizards locker room to shake guard John Wall's hand.

The Bulls had no answer for Wall or Bradley Beal or the rest of the athletic Wizards who made Thibodeau's team look old and tired, a compliment Thibs paid to the Eastern Conference upstarts with a grip and a grin.

Thibodeau still was smiling a few steps later when a Wizards staffer congratulated him on the hard-fought series and season. Then just before Thibodeau ducked into his office, he initiated goodbyes with a couple of United Center employees who appreciated the gesture.

This was a far cry from the coach who screamed his way through an ugly 75-69 season-ending loss to the Wizards in Game 5. This was a coach handling defeat with a lot of grace and little regret, a man who knew this overmatched Bulls team had maxed out.

"There was nothing left,'' Thibodeau said. "As a coach, that's all you can ask for.''

As a Bulls fan, you have the right to demand more next year.

When the season mercifully faded to black Tuesday, Chicago had a sense we had seen this movie before starring the Bulls. It ends with Thibodeau speaking with understandable pride about the way his players fought and how effort carried them through adversity. Some names and faces have changed since Thibodeau arrived in 2010. The final scene really hasn't, and that makes the lasting impact.

It's time for a dramatic plot twist that produces a more satisfying ending.

Welcome to the 2014 Bulls offseason, the organization's most significant summer since 2010. Then, the Bulls thought big and pursued LeBron James and Dwyane Wade before settling for Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver and the future Bench Mob. Now, the Bulls need to enter free-agency thinking big again.

Immediately after the Wizards loss, Thibodeau sounded as reflective as he did relieved and, slightly letting his guard down, left no doubt that more than anything the Bulls lacked shooters. Thibodeau wasn't taking a veiled swipe at management as much as honestly expressing what everybody could see. Well, Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony can shoot. Timberwolves forward Kevin Love can shoot. Either player would go a long way toward solving the Bulls' worst problem. Either could make the Bulls capable of catching the Heat.

If the Bulls can find a way to get one of those two stars under contract — both are available; Anthony as a free-agent and Love possibly via trade — then they will have restored themselves as serious NBA title contenders. But if they bring back a Bulls team for next season that revolves around Rose as the singular star with a gritty supporting cast led by Joakim Noah, they are destined for the kind of disappointment they just experienced.

In an elimination game, the Bulls produced their lowest point total of the year. They scored 11 points in the third quarter. Bulls executives are basketball tone-deaf if they don't interpret that as a desperate cry for offensive help — beyond the return of Rose.

Whether discussing a sign-and-trade scenario with the Knicks for Anthony or a blockbuster deal with the Timberwolves for Love, the Bulls need to make everyone available but Rose and Noah. Taj Gibson was one of three players Thibodeau identified as part of the Bulls foundation, which is appropriate after his breakout season. But if either team demands Gibson as a condition of a trade then the Bulls must realize that's the price they must pay for legitimacy.

Other offseason decisions seem easy. Exercise the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer. Lure Nikola Mirotic to America with a handsome buyout, finally. Re-sign D.J. Augustin to back up Rose. Gauge the market for Kirk Hinrich, who might return cheaply. Either draft wisely with the Nos. 16 and 19 picks or package both in a trade either to obtain a starting-quality veteran or clear salary-cap space. Stay as far away from immature, explosive free-agent headache Lance Stephenson as possible. Explore the market for restricted free-agent Gordon Hayward.

Be creative. Be bold. Be different.

Winning 48 regular-season games after losing Rose and Luol Deng served as a testament to Thibodeau's resourcefulness and the roster's resolve. But the Bulls getting ousted in the first round of the playoffs after playing well enough to raise expectations makes it difficult to say their season was more successful than disappointing. You may not agree. Gibson does.

"It's not a success if we don't go deep in the playoffs, that's just the way we feel,'' Gibson said. "We have high values here in Chicago. We're not satisfied until we go deeper in the playoffs again.''